Erdogan Says Turkey Has Raised Black Sea Natural Gas Reserves Estimate By About A Third

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the country has raised its estimate of natural gas reserves in the Black Sea by about a third, following an appraisal work at an existing field and a separate discovery.

What Happened: Turkey now estimates its offshore fields hold around 710 billion cubic meters of gas, a major boost as the nation looks forward to diversify away from imports that takes care of nearly all the domestic consumption, reported Bloomberg.

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“This new discovery will open the door for new ones. We’ll start drilling new wells as soon as possible,” Erdogan said in a press conference following a cabinet meeting.

The increase comes primarily from the Sakarya field where reserves are now estimated at 652 billion cubic meters, up from 540 billion cubic meters previously, Erdogan said. The revision was the result of an appraisal project done by an international energy company, the President said without naming it. An additional 58 billion cubic meters of gas was found in another offshore field nearby.

Price Action: After witnessing a price rise till mid-2022, Natural gas prices have been on a downtrend. The ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas BOIL is down close to 22% since the beginning of the year while the United States Natural Gas Fund, LP UNG has gained over 24% in the same period.

Turkish consumer inflation is currently trending at about a quarter century high of over 84%, while energy prices have increased even faster. The government announced four rounds of natural gas price hikes this year, which lead to widespread discontent, the report said.

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